Sr. Director - REPL

RWE•Austin, TX

About The Position

The Senior Director, Real Estate & Permitting Law (REPL), serves as a senior legal leader responsible for leading a REPL sub-function or portfolio across development, construction, and/or operational assets within RWE Clean Energy’s U.S. business. Reporting to the Vice President of REPL or the General Counsel, the Senior Director partners with enterprise stakeholders to design and deploy legal frameworks, governance structures, and risk-management strategies that enable predictable project delivery across multiple business units within their area of responsibility. This role manages a team of regional real estate attorneys and para-professionals as a player-coach. The Senior Director anticipates and resolves complex risks that span projects, technologies, and development portfolios, and ensures alignment of legal processes, decision standards, and risk tolerance across cross-functional teams. The role sits at the core of cross-functional leadership forums and partners closely with Development, Government Affairs, Compliance, Structured Finance, and Legal leadership to align REPL legal strategy with enterprise growth objectives.

Requirements

Juris Doctor (J.D.) from an accredited law school and active bar license in at least one U.S. jurisdiction
Minimum 12 years of progressive legal experience, including at least 4 years in a senior leadership role managing a team or function in real estate, permitting, or environmental law within an energy or infrastructure sector
Demonstrated experience managing legal support across complex project portfolios or geographies
Experience leading legal teams or sub-functions within a matrixed or enterprise organization
Proven ability to anticipate and resolve risks that cross projects, portfolios, or business units
Experience designing governance frameworks, escalation pathways, or legal operating processes supporting project delivery
Translates enterprise REPL strategy into portfolio-level legal frameworks and governance tools
Leads cross-functional alignment on legal processes and risk tolerance across development portfolios to effectively manage priorities across the function
Anticipates delivery risks spanning multiple projects and implements scalable mitigation approaches
Develops leadership capability within assigned sub-function to reduce escalation dependency
Aligns legal support models across Business Units to improve predictability and throughput
Partners with VP/GC on OKR development and execution within REPL portfolio
Influences cross-functional stakeholders to adopt standardized decision standards

Responsibilities

Sub-Function Leadership: Lead legal support for a designated REPL portfolio or functional area across development, construction, and/or operating projects
Risk Management Frameworks: Design and implement risk-identification and mitigation frameworks addressing land and permitting risks impacting multiple projects or business units
Governance & Policy: Oversee legal program design, governance models, and policy development within assigned REPL scope; coordinate implementation with REPL Operations
Enterprise Alignment: Champion alignment across Business Units and Legal sub-functions regarding legal risk tolerance, escalation pathways, and decision-making standards; Implement and maintain standardized documentation and risk thresholds
Strategic Partnership: Partner with the VP of REPL and the General Counsel in strategic planning and OKR development related to development pipeline execution and permitting strategy
Cross-Functional Integration: Collaborate with Development, Environmental, Regulatory, Tax, and Finance teams to integrate legal considerations into project planning and structured finance initiatives
Portfolio Oversight: Own legal support for one or more development portfolios, ensuring scalable, business-aligned delivery of REPL legal services
External Counsel Management: Oversee engagement of outside counsel for major transactions, litigation, or precedent-setting permitting matters
Enterprise Initiatives: Represent REPL Legal in enterprise-wide initiatives, including structured finance transactions, permitting innovation programs, and portfolio-level governance reviews
Manage and develop a team of attorneys and/or legal professionals
Conduct regular performance reviews, provide coaching, and support career development for team members
Build leadership bench strength and foster collaboration across Legal and Land Administration (LAT)
Align legal processes and tools across projects or regions to improve efficiency, transparency, and delivery predictability
Establish consistent legal standards, workflows, and best practices across regions while allowing flexibility for local market nuances; Allocate resources and balance workloads across regions to support development timelines and priorities.
Organize and lead recurring monthly meetings to discuss hot topics, emerging risks, lessons learned, and best practices across regions to ensure alignment and continuous improvement
Proactively manage a portfolio of large scale energy projects
Resolve real estate and permitting challenges by identifying practical, risk-mitigating solutions rather than merely escalating issues
Coordinate closely with engineering, development, procurement, and transmission teams to align project milestones, attending regular project meetings and providing updates on real estate and permitting risks
Support development team in connection with the negotiation of various real estate documents (including site control agreements, permit documents, and title curative instruments), analyzing counterparties’ positions related thereto, and developing pragmatic resolutions that balance business needs with risk management
Ensure timely acquisition of all required permits to support development, construction, and operation of renewable projects across multiple jurisdictions. Collaborate with external counsel and permitting consultants to identify permitting needs and support the development team in securing approvals

Benefits

Medical
Dental
Vision
Life Insurance
Short-Term Disability
Long-Term Disability
401(k) match
Flexible Spending Accounts
EAP
Education Assistance
Parental Leave
Paid time off
Holidays
Eligible employees also participate in short-term incentives, in addition to salary.